President Obama prefers to have eight-team college football playoff

CBSSports.com wire reports

Feb. 29, 2012 9:44 PM ET

President Barack Obama gives his seal of approval to a college football playoff, plans to welcome his hometown Chicago Bulls to the White House as NBA champions sometime in the next "five years" and says he's "been on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon for a while."

In an interview with Bill Simmons of Grantland.com, Obama was asked how often he hoped to welcome the Bulls as NBA champions.

"Every year," Obama said. "And it hasn't happened yet, but it will happen."

He later said he has "another five years" to welcome them, though he stands for re-election in November.

The President says he would prefer to see an eight-team major college football playoff rather than the four-team one that is being considered, but called four "a good place to start."

As for Lin, Obama says Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tipped him off while the two played basketball together.